Pregnancy and Probiotics: Is There a Benefit?

HealthDay News — For pregnant women, probiotics have no effect on vaginal health, according to a study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Christian Gille, MD, from the University Children’s Hospital in Tuebingen, Germany, and colleagues conducted a randomized trial in which oral Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and L. reuteri RC-14 or placebo were administered for eight weeks. Participants included 320 women with less than 12 completed weeks of pregnancy. Vaginal swabs were taken before (290 women) and after (271 women) the intervention.

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The researchers observed a decrease in the proportion of normal vaginal microbiota, from 82.6 to 77.8% in the treatment group and from 79.1 to 74.3% in the placebo group. After the intervention there were no significant differences across groups (P=0.297).

“Oral probiotics may be suitable for implementation in antenatal care but, as administered here, had no effect on vaginal health during mid gestation,” the authors write. “Other application routes or probiotic preparations may be more effective in supporting vaginal microbiota during pregnancy.”